In perpetuum et unum diem
by lostinthemuggleworld
Summary: Translation: Forever and a day. Entry for annual bade prompts. Prompt #21 'Hitchhiker AU - Jade's a hitchhiker in the rain standing by the side of the road when Beck stops to pick her up. However, things take a turn for the worse when Beck's car breaks down as well and the two of them must find a way to get to their destinations together.' Oneshot.


**A/n:** Hi guys, this is my entry for the annual Bade fic prompt. I've taken a few liberties but I hope you enjoy it anyway. My prompt was;

"Hitchhiker AU - Jade's a hitchhiker in the rain standing by the side of the road when Beck stops to pick her up. However, things take a turn for the worse when Beck's car breaks down as well and the two of them must find a way to get to their destinations together."

 _Dedicated to Amanda (kicksenselessmydefenses) for talking Bade with me just all the time, sometimes literally 24 hours a day, and without whom I doubt this ever would have been written. Thanks for being the Jade to my Beck._

Xx

Jade extended her arm hopefully as she spotted a set of headlights through the heavy downpour of rain. The water had seeped into her bones by this point and she prayed to whatever higher power might be out there that the driver of this car would stop and take pity on her. She wasn't one to usually want anyone's pity but she right now her complete feeling of misery was a much more dominant thought in her mind than her pride.

She was out of luck though. The car didn't slow down for her; in fact it actually seemed to speed up and before she could prepare herself there was an icy wall of water cascading over her. She let out a shrill squeak of dismay and shielded her face as best she could with her arms to stop her makeup from running even more than it already was.

When another set of headlights appeared, she could barely muster enough will to stick out her thumb. She only managed to half-extend her arm, careful to stay further back from the puddles of water pooling on the side of the road this time.

To her immense surprise, though, the car actually slowed to a stop.

"Where are you headed?" A surprisingly young and gentle voice called through the open window of the pickup that had pulled up beside her.

"South. LA," she replied, peering into the car to make out the figure she was speaking to. He looked to be about her age, maybe a little older, chestnut hair falling just above his shoulders. His plaid shirt had seen better days but his hair was carefully styled and his face was lit up with an honest smile.

"You're in luck, I'm actually headed to LA myself. Hop in."

Jade found herself following his words, clambering in to the passenger seat of his truck without another word. Sure, he could turn out to be a serial killer but standing out in the rain for the last couple of hours had made her much less picky about rides. Besides, this guy seemed relatively normal and actually kind of cute so she was content to take her chances.

"Raining out there?" The man joked; an amused smile appearing on his face as he took in her drenched appearance as she settled into her seat and hauled her overstuffed duffel bag in after her.

"Yeah, no shit." She muttered, slightly embarrassed by how dishevelled she knew that she must look right now. The longer she spent looking at the driver, the more she grew to appreciate just how attractive he was and she could only hope that her waterproof eye makeup was living up to its name better than she had feared.

"Here," he said, shrugging off the beat up, plaid shirt he was wearing and handing it to her, "you must be freezing."

She studied him as she gratefully took the shirt, far beyond caring that doing so might actually constitute taking someone else's help. His smile was friendly but there seemed to be a hint of some other expression on his face too, something beneath the surface that almost looked like relief. But no, that didn't make any sense at all and Jade thought that maybe being out in the rain for so long might actually be making her hallucinate.

"Thanks." She hardly ever said that but she was certainly grateful that this guy had finally picked her up off the side of the road, and was even trying to make her comfortable. It was unexpectedly sweet.

She tugged the shirt on, rolling the sleeves up a little so that they didn't cover her hands and revelling in the warmth of it. It wasn't a particularly thick or warm shirt in its own right but just the addition of what was the only piece of clothing she had on that wasn't sopping wet felt like a godsend. There was something comforting about it beyond that too and it was probably weird to think so but she thought it smelled nice, it probably smelled like him and if that were the case then she needed to add that to the fast-growing list of things she was finding attractive about him.

"I'm Jade," she offered, not entirely sure why she had decided to say that. The guy seemed nice enough but that didn't mean that she thought it was safe to trust him.

"Beck," he replied and she had to force herself to keep from smiling back when he shot her another beautiful smile.

She pulled her legs up onto the seat, hugging her knees to herself as he drove on through the rain. The water was pelting down so hard that she was surprised he could even see the road but he wasn't acting too concerned. She raised a hand to trace the raindrops as they raced along the windowpane, mentally cheering on the ones that she wanted to win.

It wasn't until a grating pop song started blasting from the radio that she turned her attention away from the window, hand flying out to smash the radio controls and change the station.

"Hey, I was listening to that!" Beck exclaimed and she might have felt a little bad had the song not been an offense to the very nature of music.

"Don't care. That was horrible," she told him, flicking through the stations until she settled on something that sounded more indie rock than pop. "Much better."

"Have you never heard that the driver is supposed to be the one that gets to pick the music?" He asked somewhat incredulously but the gleam in his eye gave away the fact that he was just messing around.

"Nope. Never heard of it."

"It's a thing, trust me. It's my car, I should get to pick what we listen to."

"I'm just helping you out."

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, you can't control the radio when you're driving. You should be keeping both hands on the wheel and at ten and two, mister."

"I didn't want to change the station, I was fine listening to the one I had it on." He countered.

"Well, I'm helping you there too."

"By changing my music?"

"Yes, exactly."

"And that helps me how?"

"That music was God-awful. It was for your own good. And the greater good in general."

Beck shook his head, seeming to concede to her argument or at least lose interest in bickering over the topic any longer.

"Besides, this way I won't puke all over this nice leather interior," she teased, a sarcastic grin on her face.

Xx

"Why are you taking this road?"

"It's the highway, it's the fastest way to make our way south."

"But it goes right through the main towns and it's almost rush hour," she reasoned. "You'd be much better off taking the back streets, meeting up with the highway later on after we've avoided all the traffic."

"And how exactly do you know that? Or propose I navigate my way through these supposed backstreets?"

She held up her phone, waving it in front of his face in a way that was probably too fast for him to actually read anything on the screen but that hardly mattered. "I looked it up," she answered, a gloating tone to her voice.

Jade liked getting her way so a satisfied smirk settled on her features as he turned to her and asked which turn he had to take first. She'd been expecting him to ignore her or argue but he seemed to just be taking her suggestion on which was something she really wasn't used to.

"You're really not taking the highway?" She asked casually after a moment, making sure not to let any real confusion seep into her voice.

She watched Beck make a confused face but he was smiling. "Why? Are you not so sure about your back roads now or something?" He asked and Jade wanted to find his teasing tone irritating but instead it was just kind of... endearing.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "You just gave in a little easy. What are you? Some kind of pushover?" She really wasn't sure why she was pressing the matter, being mean to him when she was actually kind of pleased that he had taken her opinion on board.

Beck barked out a laugh at that and it took him a moment to even respond. She narrowed her eyes, not impressed that he was laughing at her.

"Maybe I am a little," he said between chuckles. "Especially when it comes to a pretty girl telling me what to do."

She could feel her cheeks turn bright red and she ducked her head so that he wouldn't notice the effect he'd had on her. "Pfft. Right," she muttered in a tone of disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what did I say?"

If she had been embarrassed before it was nothing compared to now.

"You didn't say anything really. It's just..."

"Just, what?" He asked, voice laced with concern. She felt guilty for even kicking up a fuss and she really just wanted to forget it but it didn't seem like he was about to.

"A 'pretty girl'?" She repeated, as though repeating it would make him realise the lunacy of what he'd said.

"Oh," he had the grace to look embarrassed then and her heart sank a little in spite of herself. As much as she knew she wasn't anything special, she had kind of hoped that... that he had thought she was. Which sounded a little ridiculous but she couldn't help but hope that he might be slightly interested in her, even if realistically she knew that was impossible.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I- I wasn't hitting on you. Or, it wasn't just some lame line I was trying."

"No, of course not. I didn't think you were it's just not something I really get called a lot."

"What? Pretty?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, wishing that this conversation could just be over already.

"I find that hard to believe," his tone was serious and it forced her to raise her head and finally look at him again.

"Why? Because I'm just so stunningly gorgeous?" She uttered sarcastically.

"Well... yeah."

"I was kidding," she explained, really hoping that he hadn't taken her seriously. If he had he must think that she was the most self-absorbed thing to ever walk the planet.

Beck laughed again and she might have been completely offended if it weren't so charming and somehow she could tell that it was not at all malicious.

"I know. I do actually have the ability to detect sarcasm," he said and even though she had doubted he was, she was relieved all the same that he wasn't laughing at her, not really. "But I was serious. You are pretty, incredibly so."

She really didn't know what to say to that, just blushed harder and dropped his gaze again.

"Stop."

"It's true! You're beautiful."

"You only met me an hour ago and I know for a fact that I must look like a drowned rat. Not exactly beautiful."

"That's not true," he argued firmly. "You are definitely beautiful, trust me."

She hid a smile, looking pointedly out the window so that he wouldn't notice. Between the bright blush and the smile, she hardly felt like herself at all but at the same time she felt a little giddy. Excited. Like this was something she could find herself getting used to if she were ever in the position to.

Always the pessimist though, Jade knew that she would never get that chance. This boy was just her ride to LA, nothing more and she doubted that she would ever see him again after they got there.

Xx

Jade couldn't tell how long they had been driving for when she started awake. She couldn't remember making any conscious decision to fall asleep but the combination of the warm car and the fact that she had hardly slept at all in the last two days had been enough to let her drift off without realising.

"Where are we?" She mumbled, the scenery outside the window was unfamiliar but that was not really surprising. Jade had spent most of her life in LA and then later Vancouver, having only ever flown between them and not being acquainted with the landscape of Washington or anywhere else along the west coast.

"Just outside Portland," he responded easily and she was a little disappointed that her sudden breaking of the quiet in the car had failed to startle him.

She turned her gaze out of the passenger window, wondering if she should try and keep the conversation going or just let the car lapse into silence once more. Normally, she would be more than happy to sit in silence rather than have to make mind-numbing conversation with someone she didn't like but for some reason this felt different. She found herself wanting to make him talk to her, find out more about the guy that had taken pity on her and sidled himself with her company for the 16 hours or so.

"Why LA?" She asked after a moment of thought, figuring that that was an innocent enough question to ask.

"I'm going to see my girlfriend." His eyes were fixed on the road as he answered and Jade was glad for that. It wasn't like she had any right to be disappointed and she wasn't sure why she was so surprised, of course a cute and apparently sweet guy like that would be taken.

"Well, why is she in LA then?" She all but demanded. It was probably none of her business but she was hardly one to shy away from asking something just because of that.

He did not look happy about her question and Jade was about to tell him to forget about it when he finally spoke.

"She's just… going through a rough time at the moment."

The answer was vague to say the least but the poor guy looked so uncomfortable that she didn't want to ask for any sort of follow up. In fact, the look on his face made her want to apologise or at least change the subject but it was just as she had that thought that it happened.

She was looking at Beck but something drew her gaze out through the windshield and to the road in front of them just in time to see a set of headlights headed straight for them. She barely had time to react, letting out a small shriek in horror – not even able to muster a proper scream in the face of the situation.

One moment they were on the road and the next, they were sliding down an embankment. The car that was headed for them still managed to clip the front of Beck's car and sent the car spinning as it crashed down off of the road. A few shrubs and small trees were bulldozed by their decent, the car only slowing to a stop as it collided with a sturdy tree. It was the driver's side that hit the tree and the car crumpled in on itself with a horrifying screech of metal.

Xx

 _Squealing brakes._

 _The scent of burning rubber._

 _A car horn sounding._

 _Someone screaming._

And then nothing.

Xx

The car jolted to a stop and Jade sat there for a moment in shock, not moving or saying anything – mind reeling with what had just happened. It had all been so fast; Beck hadn't even- wait, _fuck_ , Beck. She glanced to her left and her heart dropped when she noticed him laying there, eyes closed and blood trailing down his forehead.

"Oh my god," she breathed, panic filling her as she struggled to unclip her seatbelt and leant over to him, tentatively placing her shaking fingers on his neck to try and feel for a pulse.

"Beck?" She called quietly, surprised by how quiet and unsure her voice came out sounding.

There was no response and she didn't know what to do. She tried to open her door but there were branches in the way and she wasn't strong enough to couldn't force it open wide enough for her to be able to get out.

"Beck, come on." She repeated, hand resting gently on his shoulder. She was on the verge of shaking him but she doubted that would be a good idea, not knowing what kind of injury he might have sustained in the accident especially given the blood she could see trickling down the side of his face.

"Beckett, I swear to God." Her voice was sharp, demanding and it seemed to work because not a moment later he had opened his eyes and was trying to sit forward in his seat.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he came to, hand reaching up to run through his hair and wincing when he did so. He drew his hand back, seeming a little taken aback to notice the small smear of blood coloring it.

"Yeah. Fine," she replied. "Just want to get out of here."

Beck glanced around them, presumably looking for some way out of the wreck. He unclipped his own seatbelt and lowered his seat so that he could climb over it and into the back of the car. Once there he wrenched at the door on the passenger side, managing to get it open fairly wide. Instead of climbing right out, he turned back to her and offered her his hand.

"Come on, let's get out of here then," he suggested.

Jade was sure that she was capable of getting out herself but she appreciated the thought and took his hand, letting him help her out of the car. She expected him to drop her hand the moment she was safely out of the car but he didn't. His fingers curled tightly with hers seemingly absentmindedly as he led the way back up the embankment and to the side of the road.

"So much for my ride to LA," she muttered, glancing back down at the car a little wistfully. It was probably her fault for getting her hopes up but she'd really thought that she had found a way to get to the city to see her mom and now that chance had faded away.

Beck either didn't hear her comment or he chose to ignore it but he did turn to her, eyes scanning her face and then flitting down across her body. "Are you sure you're okay? God, Jade, I'm so sorry. That guy just came out of nowhere and I-"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. We're both fine. A little stranded but fine." She cut him off. The poor guy looked like the guilt was going to consume him if she didn't and she wasn't sure why but she felt the need to alleviate his concerns as much as possible. She squeezed his hand without really thinking about it. His gaze met hers when she did, face wearing an unreadable expression and Jade was about to drop his hand and pretend that it hadn't happened when all of a sudden she felt a soft pressure and she dropped her gaze to find that he was squeezing her hand back in return.

"So... how do you propose we get to LA now?" She asked after a moment, cheeks flushing slightly due to the fact that they were still holding hands and it didn't seem like either of them were in any hurry to let go.

Xx

In the end, Beck had to climb back down to the car and retrieve his cell phone so that he could call a tow truck. The other driver in the accident hadn't even slowed down, seemingly not deterred that they had forced another car off the road with their reckless driving. Whoever they were they better hope that Jade never found out who they were or they would really live to regret it.

The tow truck arrived in a surprisingly short amount of time, a wiry man who introduced himself as 'Tom' pulling up to help. He even offered to drop them at the nearest motel on his way to the mechanic, giving Beck a business card and telling him to call in a couple of hours to find out how bad the damage to his car was.

Tom really did seem like a nice and helpful guy but at the same time, Jade got a weird vibe from him. She was glad when Beck climbed into the bench seat of the truck before her, acting as a buffer so that she was squeezed between the door and Beck rather than the two men.

She was pressed up rather close to Beck, which with anyone else she might have been annoyed about but with him she found that she didn't actually mind all that much. She discovered that she had been right about the shirt, this close to him she couldn't help but breath in the same scent that his shirt had held, emitting from him. He was warm against her side and she shivered involuntarily, not sure if it was from the contrast to how cold she had been or for some other reason entirely.

"Okay?" He asked, turning to her and Jade felt a blush rise in her cheeks in embarrassment that he had apparently noticed her little shiver.

"Yeah, fine. Just- just cold." It wasn't a total lie, the truck was a lot cooler inside than Beck's car had been and the standing outside on the side of the road waiting hadn't helped either.

He nodded, accepting her explanation and she thought that would just be the end of it until she felt him shift his weight and bring his arm up to wrap around her shoulders. She let out a small noise of surprise and tensed, having not expected that at all. She noticed his face change, clearly put off by her reaction and to her dismay he began to withdraw his arm.

"Sorry, I just thought—"

She didn't respond; a little too embarrassed to say anything to the effect of wanting him to keep his arm there. She did want that though so in place of saying anything to that effect, she simply reached up to grab his hand and keep his arm there in a move that seemed almost reflexive.

If he was surprised by her move, he didn't show it. He just let his fingers tangle with hers and tightened his arm around her again, pulling her close against his side.

Jade was surprised by how much it didn't feel at all weird like she might have expected it to. She hardly knew the guy and here she was curling into him as the truck jittered along down the road like she belonged there.

She glanced up at him, hoping to catch some sort of unguarded expression to figure out what it was exactly what he was thinking but she had none such luck. Instead of catching any sort of emotion, she found herself staring up into a pair of warm, brown eyes that were already fixed on her.

She would have thought that at that he would have quickly looked away, maybe even acted a little embarrassed but he didn't do that at all. He simply smiled at her, an honest smile that reached his eyes and through no fault of her own, Jade found that she was unable to help from smiling right back. She was only able to do so for a moment though, before his gaze became a little too much and she had to look away.

She supposed that she could have taken the opportunity to pull away totally or turn to stare out the window but she didn't do either of those things. Without thinking too hard about why, she dropped her head to his shoulder and lay against him. She didn't say anything and neither did he so they stayed like that, curled up with each other in a silence that wasn't at all uncomfortable, for the duration of the trip to the motel.

A trip that was over a little soon, in Jade's opinion.

Xx

"I guess we'll have to stay here, at least for the night. Maybe a little longer," Beck suggested. He had just gotten off the phone with the mechanic and from what Jade had heard of the conversation his car wasn't in the best shape.

They'd been hanging around in the room for the last few hours, watching TV and chatting about nothing as Beck had waited to call and find out about his car. It might have seemed a little strange to be spending time in a motel room and they had both thought as much when the tow truck driver had dropped them there. A short walk around town though told them everything they needed to know; the town pretty much consisted of the motel, a gas station and a seafood place that looked like it could give you food poisoning just by looking at it.

So the motel had been the best option, it being warm and dry and the TV in the room being the best source of entertainment to be found unless you counted watching the odd patron at the restaurant turn a sickly shade of green and hurl up their 'seafood' on the sidewalk as they left. Which Jade did but Beck apparently did not. Besides, the room was especially useful now that it looked like the wait for the car would extend overnight.

Jade stood up from the couch, raising her arms above her head in a stretch since she'd been sitting in the same position for so long.

"Look, I really appreciate everything you've done for me but I think maybe I should just make my own way there. You have to stay here with your car and I really can't wait."

"Jade I-"

"I'm sorry, I just really need to get to LA, okay? My- my mom is sick and I really need to get there to see her before..." She trailed off, biting her lip to stop from finishing her sentence. She couldn't say it, couldn't say the words out loud for fear of that making them come true.

Jade crossed her arms across her chest and moved over to the door, pausing when she reached it.

"Take care of yourself, okay? I'm sure your girlfriend would want you to reach her safely." She couldn't look at him as she spoke but she felt the need to say something and that was all that came out. And if her voice came out sounding a little bitter on that last part it wasn't through any conscious decision because she really had no right to care that he had a girlfriend at all.

Jade reached down to open the door, unwilling to wait for him to respond and just wanting to get the hell out of there before she lost her nerve. Her fingers curled around the door handle but she froze when she felt a hand on her other arm.

She turned, a little startled to see Beck suddenly so close, hand clutching at her arm and a stricken expression on his face.

"Jade, please."

She wasn't sure why those words made her stop but they did. Her heart clenched just hearing them, partly because he just sounded so desperate but also for some other reason that she couldn't really identify. It was like she knew that admission meant something, she felt like she had to listen for some reason.

"I-in the car. You called me Beckett."

"What?" She vaguely remembered saying that, when she'd been trying to wake him up but she really didn't see what that had to do with anything.

"You called me Beckett, I heard you." He repeated, as though there was something she was missing.

"So?" She asked, turning her body so that she could look at him quizzically without straining her neck.

"So, I never told you that was my full name."

Jade let out a humourless laugh. "You must have. Maybe you don't remember saying it."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you remember me telling you my full name?"

She paused, trying to think back over everything they had said to each other in the last few hours.

"Well, no. I can't remember exactly when but you must have. Or maybe I didn't know and it was just a lucky guess."

"I didn't tell you and it wasn't a guess." His tone was serious, a stark contrast to the way easy humour his voice had held up until then.

"... Okay," she said slowly, completely confused as to what he could possibly be getting at. "Why would I know your name, then?"

Beck dropped his grip on her arm in favour of running his hand through his hair, a move that Jade found a little familiar. She must have known someone that had the same nervous tick, though she couldn't recall exactly who right at that moment.

"Look, it's kind of a long story. Do you want to... sit back down or something?"

"No," she replied, "I want you to just spit it out. What the hell is your deal?" Maybe that was too harsh but she was confused and she wasn't interested in hearing him stumble over his words and beat around the bush.

"Okay. Um. It wasn't an accident that I came across you on the side of the road. I- I was actually looking for you."

"You were looking for me?" She stole an apprehensive step backwards, an uneasy feeling washing over her at his words. The money she'd saved from just flying to LA didn't seem worth it now, not when she sensed that she was probably about to be horribly murdered or worse.

"Yes. I was looking for you because—"

"What are you? Some kind of stalker? How the fuck did you even know that I was going to be there?"

"No, Jade. Look, that didn't come out right. I just- look, I know you. And you know me and I know that you can't remember that right now but – but don't I seem even a little familiar."

"No," she lied. "I don't know you. Maybe you have the wrong person." Her arms were crossed across her chest again and she was eyeing him warily, refusing to listen to the small voice at the back of her mind that was telling her he was making an odd sort of sense, that she knew exactly what he was talking about and that he actually did seem eerily familiar.

Beck sighed heavily, hand rising to rake through his hair again. "I- Okay, that necklace you're wearing. Where do you think you got it?"

Jade frowned, uncrossing her arms so that she could reach up and wrap her fingers around her necklace. It was what seemed to be a metal ring, strung on black cord and her mind scrambled for an answer to his question. She honestly had no idea where she'd gotten it, didn't even remember having put it on. All she knew was that is felt right, the metal was cool in her palm and it's weight was familiar, as though she had held it as she was now hundreds of times before. The only problem was, she couldn't think of any specific instances of her holding it before now – just a haze of half-formed thoughts about clutching to it when she was upset.

She didn't answer him verbally, merely shaking her head gently and then staring at him and waiting for him to continue.

"Look," he said, hand dipping beneath the neckline of the t-shirt he was wearing to tug on a black cord and—

"Oh my god," she breathed, closing the distance between them in a few steps. She dropped her own necklace, fingers reaching out to touch the identical one that he was holding up for her to see.

It was exactly the same necklace as she wore, except that he was wearing a second necklace as well. This one was a thin silver chain, a small metal disk hanging from it. She didn't ask before picking that one up to inspect as well, trying to stifle her small gasp when she turned the disk over. While it was plain silver on the back, the other side was emblazoned with a large 'J'.

Jade looked up at him through her lashes, a questioning expression on her face as she tried to figure out how to ask what she wanted to. He seemed to understand though, not needing for her to even voice her thoughts before he explained.

"It stands for Jade," he told her softly, offering her a small smile. "The matching necklaces were my idea but you thought that I should have something else as well. Just in case anyone wasn't sure that I belonged to you. Wanted to literally have your name written on me, or as close as you could get."

Jade's eyes widened at the implications of what he was saying. On the one hand, that seemed way too lovey for her to believe of herself but it certainly sounded demanding and possessive enough to be her so she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"You're trying to tell me that we're... together?" She asked in a small voice, still more than a little confused but every part of her screaming for her to believe him.

"For just over three years," he confirmed, her hands were still clutching at his necklaces and he brought his own hands up to cover hers. "I know it seems crazy but it really is true. And to answer your question from before, I got a call from your dad after you called him. He let me know where you had just been, at that pay phone to call him and I just drove down the highway looking for you from there."

"Why don't I remember you?" She wasn't the kind of person to just fall for something like this and she would have expected herself to be trying to rationalize the matching necklaces somehow, maybe even accusing him of slipping hers around her neck when she had dozed off in the car. She didn't though because something deep inside of her was begging her to trust him, instincts telling her that he was speaking the truth. Jade wasn't sure if it was out of some sort of familiarity with him that she couldn't remember but she felt safe with him, like nothing all that bad could happen to her if she just stayed close enough to him.

"I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth. I think it has something to do with your mom."

"What, because she's sick? You think that's sent me over the deep end?"

"That's just the thing, she's not sick."

"What do you mean? Of course she is. I just got the phone call yesterday that she's not doing so well." 

Beck looked uncomfortable, dropping his gaze down to where their hands were still entwined and squeezing her hands gently.

"Baby, you got that phone call just over four years ago," his voice was barely above a whisper but she heard him clearly, hanging off his every word as a sick feeling settled in the pit off her stomach. "And – God, I'm so sorry but... she- she wasn't able to hang on long enough for you to get there to see her."

"No," she whispered in horror, wrenching her hands free from his and taking a fumbling step backwards. "No. It's not true. She- she can't be gone. Please. No."

And just like that it all came crashing back, the sympathetic looks from the nurses, the itch of the lace from the black dress she wore to the funeral, the awkward silence over the phone when her dad called to tell her that he just couldn't take the time off work to even attend.

Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over immediately, a quiet sob escaping from her mouth as memories flooded into her mind.

 _She remembered standing at the podium in the church and thinking that her mom would have hated it all, her mom who had vowed to never step foot in another church again after Jade's little brother came out as gay and was publicly ousted by their pastor. And she remembered her brother sitting at the back in the last pew with his fiancée, not daring to come any closer. Even after the service, Onyx hadn't approached her and she really didn't blame him. He'd been there for their mom when she was off gallivanting around, trying to find herself and trying to make it as an actress. Jade's mother hadn't approved of her choices and there had been such a rift between them, a rift that would never be repaired now that she was gone._

Jade felt her legs go, knowing that she was about to unceremoniously sink to the ground from the weight of everything but then suddenly a strong pair of arms were there, wrapping around her waist and keeping her upright.

She looked up through the tears that were running down her face in an endless stream to see Beck's concerned face and that only served to make her cry even harder, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his chest. She remembered him now, remembered everything about him and she was horrified that she had somehow managed to forget the single most important person in her life.

"Beck, I—" she chocked out, voice muffled against his chest and thick from crying.

"Shh. It's okay, honey. I've got you. It's okay."

She breathed him in, unable to help from being reminded of every other time that he had held her close like this. And God, in more than three years together there had sure been a lot of them.

 _She remembered the first time she'd been held by him, before they had even known each other at all. It was the first audition that she had been on since her mom had passed and she really hadn't wanted to go but her savings were quickly running thin and she wasn't making nearly enough at the restaurant to get by. It was an ad for some sort of mop and Jade was doomed from the start, lacking the easy charm that the director was looking for in someone to play the part of the caring housewife._

 _She was pissed off at her agent for even getting her the audition and she had all but stormed up to the designated 'stage' just to get it over with since she'd come all the way uptown and she wasn't going back home without at least doing that much._

 _The only problem was that she hadn't been watching where she was going when she stormed up and had just so happened to walk through the pool of water that the amazing mop could supposedly get rid off in seconds. She went flying, letting out a small shriek and slamming her eyes closed as she accepted the fact that she was going to fall and possibly injure herself. Only, she didn't. A pair of arms grabbed her instead and she found herself glancing up into the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen._

" _Sweetheart, will you please just buy a new mop already?" He said, a bemused expression on his face as he helped her right herself. The entire studio erupted into hysterical laughter and it turned out that the director adored it; casting them both and having them do something similar in the final take._

 _The night that they wrapped on the ad he came over to her as she was getting ready to leave, hands shoved in his pockets and having developed an inability to look her directly in the eye._

" _Hi. Uh, Jade?" He'd begun, shifting his weight back and forth from one foot to the other._

" _Yeah?" She had responded, they hadn't really had much of an opportunity to get to know each other but she found him absolutely adorable. He'd been so nice to her, bringing her coffee every morning and always offering her a ride even though there was a bus stop only a block away. At first she had been a little suspicious, waiting for the other shoe to drop and him to expect something from her but so far that wasn't what had happened and his demeanour now didn't suggest that it was coming, either._

" _I was just wondering if you might like to get dinner sometime. With me."_

 _Jade's eyes widened in surprise and her lips curled up in a rare smile despite her best efforts._

" _Yes. Yes, I'd like that." She had to hold back from laughing when he finally met her gaze, shock written all over his features._

Back in the motel room, Jade was still clinging to Beck. The tears had subsided as she was lost in thought but the aching hole in her chest that was the loss of her mother was still there. She tried not to think about it, tried to focus on the sweet boy that was holding her close and murmuring condolences.

"You caught me," she said quietly, pressing herself impossibly closer to him.

"Of course I did."

"Not just now, before. At that audition, when I slipped."

"You remember?" She supposed that he could have thought that she was only remembering her mother and what had happened when in reality it was all back and crystal clear.

"I do. And I don't know how I could have possibly forgotten you. You're the most important thing in my life."

She felt some of the tension leave him at her words and a wave of guilt washed over her as she tried to imagine just how much she had worried him. She'd just taken off, hitchhiking of all things and he had had no idea where she was or even if she was okay. And then he'd found her and she hadn't had a clue who he was and she'd even tried to leave, wanting to make her own way to LA without him.

"You're my whole world, Jade. I'm just glad that I managed to find you."

"I guess that's just another way you managed to catch me," she smiled, feeling like a total sap but not caring at all.

Jade felt him press a kiss to the top of her head at that and she smiled, finding the gesture almost unbearably sweet.

"If there is one thing that I can absolutely guarantee, it's that I will always be there to catch you."

"Tell me you love me."

Beck's chest rumbled with laughter.

"Do you know how glad I am to have you back?" He asked and she pulled away to pout, even though she was completely touched by his words.

"Beck," she whined, really wanting him to hurry up and tell her what she had asked him to.

"What's the magic word?"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Please?"

"I love you, Jade." He told her and before she could respond, he had drawn her into a gentle kiss.

Jade slid her hands up to tangle in his hair, pulling his lips more firmly against hers and deepening the kiss. God only knew how many days it had been since their last kiss and she wanted to make the most of it, breaking away only when the need for air became a desperate one.

"I love you too," she assured him, staying pressed up against him even after the kiss had ended. "Forever."

"And a day," he responded, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

It had become a saying of theirs, that they would love each other forever and a day because forever just wasn't quite enough. Perhaps it was just a step below say infinity and beyond but Jade loved it. She loved knowing that she was important to him like he was to her. She loved how caring and sweet and considerate he was. And most of all she just loved him and she knew that no matter what happened, she always would.


End file.
